OT: Homebrew

so i was curious how many mgobloggers homebrew? i'm trying to decide what to do for my next batch. make something to keg and drink in the next month or so, or plan ahead and brew and bottle a summer beer and let it sit for a few months.

had an episode dedicated to making homebrew. It was pretty informative and very in-depth. You should try to pull that one up from YouTube or Food Network's website. I'm sure it would contain everything you need to know about making an awesome homebrew.

I am taking a keg of Raspberry Wheat to a party tonight to kill the few gallons that are left. I have been planning on doing some sort of orange stout this winter, but school has gotten the better of me...So in the next few weeks I will be brewing something summerish as by the time the beer is ready it will already be march and warmer days are just around the corner.

Kegging is the only way to go. I built my own 2 corni unit in the fall and there is nothing better than drinking your own beer on tap in the comfort of home

I would not necessarily contend that fruit wheat ales are for girls. To me it is all about pleasing the client/ patron and everyone has a different palate. It is also nice to be able to say, "Hey, I have a (insert fruit beer here) on tap at my place, why don't you come over and try it out, and maybe bring some friends as well..." There are a lot of different motives for brewing.

I did grow my own completely organic raspberries over the summer and it was more of an experiment than anything else, and I learned a few things in the process so it was worthwhile.

Sigh... I just moved to Tyler, TX a few weeks ago. Apparently Smith County is still dry. You can't buy beer, wine, or any other liquor in the area. I have to drive 45 minutes to get it, then another 45 minutes back. Anything else requires paying bar prices.

If you are planning to keg and drink with in the next 2 - 3 months, i would recommend doing a bock or some type of lager and shoot for around 5%. If you want to start a summer beer now, my preference is a nice and hoppy IPA at around 8% - 9% bottled into 22 oz bottles (larger bottles means fewer bottles and less bottling). The more traditional summer approach is a wheat beer, and if thats your preference i say go for it. I have a friend who just finished an Oberon clone and its mighty tasty. But whatever you choose, remember to relax and have a home brew.

There is a store in Taylor, MI called Adventures In Homebrewing that I would recommend. If you have any questions about anything brewing related they can answer.

I started brewing about 6 months ago, and I got the started kit from there. Me and my buddy brewed a Belgian wheat similar to Blue Moon and it turned out very well. I am going to try and grow my own hops this summer. I hear they're not hard to grow.

Nothing I love more than a Dubbel. Malty and high alcohol but not sweet like a doppelbock. Plus the whole history with the Belgian Monks is very interesting. However, it takes a couple months minimum and typically fermented at temperatures > 70 F.

When I first moved to Toronto about two years ago, I just didn't have the room (and my wife would have killed me). Now we've moved to a bigger place and I'll probably be giving it another go sometime soon. Unfortunately I don't have the huge basement I did back in the states.

I'll try just about anything. I have a particular fondness for American pale ales and IPAs, as well as the various Belgian styles (including the sour ales).

I don't do any brewing myself, but the one piece of advice I can give to brewers, both novice and experienced, is that if you travel around to breweries, brewmasters are often very willing to chat it up about beer, brewing, business strategies, show you around their operations, and general what-have-you.

So, do that. And go on brew tours. I'm planning my next big one: Northwest Michigan breweries in 4 days. Unfortunately, Leelenau Brewing Co. will not be up and running in time. Just have to make another trip ... still get to hit up Right Brain, Short's, North Peak, and a few more.

Also also, the Michigan Brewers' Guild Winter Beer festival is February 27th in Grand Rapids.

Hey, I started homebrewing my sophomore year at Michigan. It was always kinda odd that as a 19 y.o. I could buy all the ingredients to make beer, but not beer. Anyway, I got into brewing at that time, and it is a hobby I still enjoy. Fortunately, my wife likes beer, so this makes it much easier.

If you are looking to start brewing, I would start with "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian. It is probably the book that has gotten most folks into homebrewing, and walks you right through the process, and outlines the equipment you need. Also, look up and go to a local homebrew shop. The guys there will be more then happy to talk with you, and almost every shop has a basic starter kit you can get for pretty cheap (well under $100). The biggest expense early on is going to be getting a brew pot, but with some of the new no boil kits (I have not tried these, I only heard about them when I was BSing with my local homebrew shop guys) that may not even be an issue. It is a great hobby and a ton of fun. I agree with some of the folks above, the Beer Machine stuff seems to be ok at best. If boiling a few gallons of water seems daunting, check out the home winemaking kits, they are pretty good, easy as can be, but quite a bit more expensive then the ingredients for beer.

When I got into brewing in Ann Arbor, I meet some folks through The Merchant of Vino (long gone, think it is Whole foods now) by north campus that introduced me to the Ann Arbor Brewers guild. They had meetings regularly, and were a great bunch of folks. If there are any brewers in Ann Arbor not hooked up with them, probably worth checking them out.

As of right now, I have a Helles Bock ready to go into secondary, a bitter I made out of some extra grain and hops I had laying around ready to be racked as well, and about 6 different types of cider and 8 different meads aging from this fall. This is going to be a fun summer!

For those of you around Ann Arbor that love beer - there is a great brewery out of Dexter called Jolly Pumpkin. They've now opened a restaurant on Main Street that serves good food and all of their beer. Also, I can find the Bam Bier and Noel at Whole Foods in Chicago, so if you've got a WF near you definitely check it out. The Bam Bier (a farmhouse ale) is GREAT stuff.